PRIMATE SCIENCE RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
July 7, 1999
"Progress in treating malaria"
(Courtesy Tulane Regional Primate Research Center)
Researchers at the Tulane Regional Primate Research Center are making
critical inroads into treating malaria, which remains one of the world's
most pernicious diseases, with an estimated 500 million cases annually and
2-3 million deaths, mostly in children.
One of the principal reasons for malaria resurgence is resistance to
chloroquine, the drug of choice for over 40 years. By understanding how
these parasites become resistant to chloroquine, Drs. Dibyendu De, Frank
Cogswell, Donald Krogstad and their colleagues have been able to develop
chemical analogues which circumvent the resistance mechanism. They have
shown that these new drugs are effective against chloroquine-resistant
strains of the human parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) in monkeys at the
Tulane Regional Primate Research Center. They are now testing these drugs
in human volunteers at the Tulane-LSU-Charity Hospital General Clinical
Research Center in New Orleans.
The monkey studies have provided safety and pharmacokinetic data (maximum
drug levels, excretion rates etc.), as well as estimated doses and initial
treatment regimens for human trials. These compounds will next be tested in
West Africa (Mali), an area of heavy malaria transmission. The researchers
hope that this new generation of compounds will provide treatment for
malaria to residents of the tropics, as well as travelers and military
personnel serving in malarious areas of the world.
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References:
De D., F.M. Krogstad, L.D. Byers, D.J. Krogstad. 1998. Structure-activity
relationships (SARs) for antiplasmodial activity among
7-substituted-4-aminoquinolines. J Med Chem. 41:4918-4926.
De D., L.D. Byers, D.J. Krogstad. 1997. Antimalarials: synthesis of
4-aminoquinolines that circumvent drug resistance in malaria. J
Heterocyclic Chem. 34(1):315-320.
De, D., F.M. Krogstad, F.B. Cogswell and D.J. Krogstad 1996.
Aminoquinolines that circumvent resistance in Plasmodium falciparum in
vitro. Am J of Trop Med and Hyg 1996; 55 (6): 579-583.
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Primate-Science Research Highlights appears every other week and focuses
broadly on research involving non-human primates. Coverage includes
biomedicine, behavior, conservation and veterinary science. Please
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